February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Magic Johnson is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Magic Johnson to make ‘NBA Countdown’ appearance for Finals Game 1

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 5/30/22

Magic Johnson was supposed to be a part of ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” for major events such as the NBA Finals. Then he wasn’t, and now he is again.

Johnson revealed on Twitter he will be making an appearance on ESPN’s NBA pregame show prior to Game 1 of the Finals on June 2. It’s not clear if he will be sitting in for the entire show or just making a brief appearance.

I’ll be joining the “NBA Countdown” on Thursday for the 1st NBA Finals game between the Warriors and Celtics.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 30, 2022

Johnson’s “NBA Countdown” odyssey has been a strange one. ESPN promoted him as part of the show’s new team back in October, but didn’t make his first appearance until March and has not been seen since then. The network had recently blamed that on scheduling issues and said he would not make any further appearances this season, so this is a quick and abrupt shift.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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